Advancements in Multiple Listing Services
Over the past several years, MLS tech advancements have largely been related to how listings data is retrieved for display on agent and broker websites.
There have also been some examples of MLSs teaming up to acquire technology companies like Remine and Agent Inbox, Siegler notes.
“That puts MLSs in the position of offering tools like showing coordination that they would have had to otherwise license from a third party,” he says. “It also sets up an interesting scenario where some MLSs are offering tech that would previously be offered by an agent’s brokerage.”
On the topic of showing coordination, this is one area where MLSs are innovating in a direction previously uncharted. For example, the most popular showing coordination service, Showingtime, was acquired by Zillow in 2021.
“With this service licensed by hundreds of MLSs, and agents outraged by the acquisition, some MLSs have tried to react,” Siegler says. “One consortium of MLSs has reacted by developing their own tech that allows for agents to choose their own showing tools and for data to be freely shared between them. Others are teaming up and acquiring their own showing platforms—like the Agent Inbox acquisition.”
MLSs are innovating in varied ways. A coalition of MLSs bought Remine to deliver more property insights and prospecting tools to members, while a trio of MLSs collaborated to build a showing service hub, where brokers and MLSs could use their own showing software services and interoperate across MLSs and marketplaces.
“The trend in MLS technology is a push toward more choices for brokers and agents,” DeBord says. “Some brokers want a menu of services from a single software provider, while others want to pick and choose tools from many different providers. These systems must be able to be bolted together and work efficiently.”
Bringing stronger standards to datasets across the industry, and the movement toward building out user-centric tools that MLSs of various sizes across the country can adopt, is playing a critical role in advancing MLS technology.
“This model of both active cooperation through partnerships and investment and passive cooperation through adoption of these initiatives has the opportunity to lead a unified technology environment for the real estate industry,” Major says.
Romig says real estate professionals are turning to tech tools to help give themselves an upper hand in a challenging market, as well as tools that improve the consumer experience.
At RE/MAX, for example, the company utilizes a proprietary tool called First, which uses predictive analytics and its Seller Star rating system to empower agents to identify potential sellers—a huge advantage in a low-inventory market. It also makes reaching out easy, with reminders to review contacts, send a quick text message or schedule a follow-up call.
“The result is a better experience for consumers, who end up working with someone they already trust, and a better outcome for agents, who may be able to avoid the pain of seeing homeowners they know list with a competitor—often one not as familiar with who they are and what they’re all about,” Romig says.
The next chapter for MLSs is allowing brokers to create and update listings within their own software interface, with the listings flowing directly into the MLS and all of its applications for cooperation with other broker participants. Some leading MLSs and their brokers are already implementing these new services.
Advancements in Proptech
When Bill Fowler, founder and chief strategist of Insidr Consulting, LLC, looks at proptech advancements, he sees the financial component well in the lead, followed by some sort of transaction management fixing the environment.
“Proptech is changing this industry some, but other industries have also gone through this evolution, and human interaction has remained a critical component in service,” he says.
While many home sellers are unwilling to deal with the stress and cost of pre-sale renovations, leaving approximately 15% – 20% of their home’s value on the table when they list their property for sale, Nejatian notes that advancements in proptech can play a role in making the process easier. As an example, he cites Revive, a new renovate-now, pay-later solution, which takes a hands-on approach focused on convenience and ROI for home sellers.
“The Revive platform centralizes process and communication for all parties involved to improve the tedious renovation experience,” he says. “Revive reports that home sellers using their service, on average, completed their pre-sale home preparations 65% faster and gained an additional $168,000 in profit at the time of closing. While real estate agents win 40% more listings, earning 22% more on their commissions.”
CRMLS recently launched a venture capital fund to address a lack of an MLS voice on the proptech side.
“One of the things that hit me entering this space is just how much cool stuff is really out there and how much innovation is occurring at the pre-revenue level,” Carter says. “There’s been a lot of money flying around, and there’s some really cool possibilities on what can be done with data mining and utilizing some of those elements to use the information in a better way.”
New Capabilities in Data Management Platforms
Data management platforms like CRMs are also pushing the real estate industry forward.
“Those who choose to incorporate CRMs into their everyday work are realizing benefits, including increased automation around lead routing and automatic marketing campaigns,” Foster says.
Sajja feels that the capabilities in the CRM, where there’s some autopilot stuff, AI and lead cultivation mechanisms that take the time away from the agent, has made it vital to switch out to the newer, advanced CRMs to help the agent from a productivity standpoint.
Brokerages often use as many as five products requiring manual input when generating marketing materials for a listing, without a central location for listing content to live, pre-listing activities that require hours of manual work and repetitive input, making automation nearly impossible.
Nejatian points to Aryeo, a content platform, as an example, which is building the future of visual real estate content to solve this issue.
“The Aryeo platform provides photographers, agents and brokerages with a centralized content system, enabling consistent data feeds, marketing automation and streamlined workflows,” he says. “Aryeo allows a brokerage to receive and request listing content directly from the creators and creates a centralized location for all parties to collaborate on it. They unlock high-value workflows such as auto-generated marketing materials and streamlined listing feeds by centralizing all listing content in one system.”
Romig shares that there is a delicate balance an agent must strike when communicating with clients, maintaining genuine connection while still promoting their business. Thus, authentic communication is key.
“The CRM is the heart of the proprietary booj Platform at RE/MAX,” he says. “We provide the tools a productive agent needs to organize, understand and engage their sphere, including customizable, branded, multi-page sites; advanced listing search; multiple lead conversion points; team, office and multi-office sites and automatic agent rosters.”
Romig concludes, “With a personalized website, agents have the opportunity to expand their digital presence and strengthen brand identity. Tools like these communicate an agent’s value as a real estate agent and provide immense value to potential customers.”
The Tip of the Iceberg
Collectively, these are just some of the tools and processes making noise in the industry.
Some innovation is being fed by the unbalanced market that’s often caused potential home sellers to choose not to list their home because of a fear of not being able to find or buy a replacement home in the shark-infested homebuying waters.
“iBuying has remained relevant because of this, allowing sellers to not worry about selling their home until they are in escrow on a replacement property,” Siegler says. “At that time, they can simply contact an iBuyer and sell their old home on their own schedule. There’s a cost for this convenience though (in the form of iBuying fees), and so I know there’s more innovation coming for the painful process of selling one home to buy another one.”
There’s also a race in this industry to provide the consumer with the best end-to-end experience in the real estate transaction, which is why ancillary services have become so much more apparent and popular.
For example, wemloSM, a subsidiary of RE/MAX Holdings, is a third-party mortgage processing solution with an all-in-one digital platform, that recently announced that it has added support for new loan products to provide a seamless and efficient loan processing experience for mortgage brokers and loan originators.
Fowler suggests that it’s important not to just go with any new tech that comes along, as many fizzle out fast.
“There are a lot of people who try to enter the industry with an idea or have a really interesting slide deck, but they don’t have a lot of software built or are ready to move forward as quickly as they think,” he says. “You have to make sure the tech you use is right for you.”
A real estate agent’s job is to be the best advocate for the consumer, and there’s no better way to do that than to stay current with the times and technologies that can help ensure a smooth transaction. Technology won’t put an agent out of business, but agents who don’t embrace technology will put themselves out of business.
As the U.S. slowly makes its way out of this pandemic-defined era, it’s difficult to say which new adoptions will stick around and which may fade.
“The future of real estate technology is interoperable, innovative, competitive products that professionals can count on to increase their efficiency and productivity,” DeBord says. “Products will have to be built in a way that brokers, MLSs and agents can bolt them together and provide the customized business functions that each individual organization needs to serve its unique customers.”
Siegler feels that consumers like the idea of minimizing the number of tours they go on during a home search, so the processes and tech associated with enabling that reality will be here for good.
“Tools that give buyers an edge will always have some place, but if the market shifts away from being so seller-centric, the costs and fees associated with those tools will need to shift accordingly,” he concludes.
